The promotion of and adherence to the rule of law represents a critical component of ensuring peace and security. Rule of law mandates systematically form an essential element of peacekeeping and peacebuilding operations. Integrating a rule of law programme, however, is a comprehensive endeavour. During conflict, its requirements include enforcement to protect civilians and ensure against crimes against women and children. In a post conflict situation it involves, inter alia, demobilization, disarmament and reintegration, reconciliation, administration of justice and development of community police forces. Hence, the strengthening of the rule of law enables a weakened country emerging from conflict to rebuild and move towards a lasting peace. The rule of law is integral to ensuring peace and security. The realization of this axiom, however, requires promoting, securing, and training in the various elements of the rule of law. It is essential for delegates pursuing peace and security, negotiating peace agreements, participating in or supporting UN peacekeeping and peacebuilding efforts to understand the rule of law architecture. Therefore, this workshop will provide delegates with the knowledge and skills necessary to incorporate a rule-of-law perspective in negotiating peace and security issues. This workshop will introduce participants to the key issues and main challenges regarding the rule of law. This workshop is organized in coordination with the Rule of Law Unit of the Executive Office of the Secretary-General to mark the publication on 1 November of the Secretary-General’s report on Rule of Law and transitional justice to the Security Council.

Objectives and content

At the end of the workshop, participants will be able to:

Better understand the particularities of the rule of law concept and its different sub-fields;

Describe the legal and institutional underpinnings of UN rule of law activities;

Identify main challenges for negotiators to incorporate the rule of law into peace and security negotiations;

Understand the role of national justice and security institutions (from police to court to prison) in a country’s recovery.

The first part of the workshop will focus on the significance of the rule of law to peace and security and familiarize participants with the sub-sectors of the rule of law such as transitional justice and reconciliation and national rule of law institutions. In addition, there will be an introduction to the rule of law as part of the peace mediation process. The second part will provide an overview of the rule of law coordination across the UN system with special regard to implementing the rule of law in UN peacekeeping and peacebuilding operations. Three case studies – one focusing on the protection of civilians, one on including women’s and children’s perspectives into rule of law activities and one on combating transnational organized crime – will complement the previous sessions.

Organization

Combining a participatory and practice-oriented approach, the workshop will include interactive lectures, practical exercises, case studies, and peer-to-peer learning. It will be conducted in English.The selected case studies will be presented and analyzed by negotiators and technical experts that will contribute hands-on experience to the sessions.

Participants

The workshop is intended for delegates from Permanent Missions in New York, in particular from developing or least developed countries. Registration will be limited to 40 persons. Prior participation in the UNITAR course on “Effective Negotiation in Multilateral Conferences” is recommended. Selected participants are requested to regard their participation as a firm commitment. UNITAR reserves to the right to make the final selection of participants.

All participants who successfully complete the workshop will receive a UNITAR Certificate of Participation.